Trailer hitch



J. R. HULSE TRAILER HITCH Nov. 13, 1951 Filed July 14, 1.947

I I I I 2412M 34 INVENTOR. (fa/21212159623? BY 1 VII/11W iatentecl Nov. 115, i951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRAILER HITCH John, R; Hulse, Dover,- N.'- J, Application July 14, 1947, Serial No. 760,726 4 Claims (01. 2805-3344) This invention relates to improvements in trailer. hitches. particularly of. a demountabletypeforuse on automobiles.

The. increasing use of trailers for pleasure and business purposes has developed a need for a safe, simple and-easily attachable and detachablehitch that will not deface nor. mar the towing vehicle and which will give that strength of attachment whichv only. permanent forms. have heretofore. made possible. In fact, certainvstate goyernmentshave found it necessary, in prescribing minimum regulations for safety of the highway, to refuse authorization for theuse of. many; common types, oftrailer hitch. It is es sential that the. accident rate from the use. of. trailersbe materially reduced,

Qneof the objects of my invention is to pro.- videafletachabm trailer hitch that can be quick: ly applied to or rernoved from an automobile or. truekand which will havedirect draft means engaging the chassis or the vehicle so that both forward as .well as rearward draft of the trailer is. taken-directly by the frame of the towing vehicle.

A further object of my invention is to provide aruni-versal type of; positive draft trailer hitch adaptable to. the small passenger vehicle so that a trailer may be temporarily secured thereto thetrailer 'hitchbeingquickly removable from the. vehicle when its use is. completed.-

Eurther. objects and advantages; of-

inven, tion will appear from the following description of preferred forms of embodiment thereof, taken irrconjunction with thedrawings attached here;

311g. '1' is a schematic side elevationof- .one form of..trailer..hitch.for attachment to .thec'ar. frame. andIbumper, b'othlbeingshown in ,cross section;

2.15. a. top plan View. of .the. hitch shown in g} Eig. 3 is adetailedLvertical cross section taken, substantially on the line. 3 3v-of Fig- 1.; A

Ei'g.,,4 .is ,a verticalsectionof the hitch anchor. tothejframe taken along the linej tof Eig. 1;.

Fig; 518. 1. View similar to Fig. 1v showinga medifiedform of attachment.

accordance With. my, invention, L have schematically illustrated the rear, portion of. a; meter-vehicle, as, ofthe passenger. type-, haying: the body, portion II to the rear ofwhichisQa, typicahbumperlz secured Icy-brackets In in the; customary manner, Thevehicle alsnhasatypi; calttransverse frame. .member as. generally i1lus-. trated by.the-.,hollow box It; In .somefcasesthis, m mberisfrequentlyof :Ibeamffor channel shape."

- may be. integral with ordetachablefrom the jaw" as bystuclziia. The. pivot 25 is usually set outwardofthe jaw body so that the towing rig not;

shown, can be readily engaged over it. A guide member 29a maybe used to hold the pivot in its plane, Aswill be apparent, the ball 25 is usually a hardened. steel member. which permits the necessary ,knuckle movement'of the trailer, rig in the. different planes and is. adapted to sustain direct tensionand compression loadsdue to the startingand stopping of thetowing vehicle.

As suggested, in the past thisdrafthas been sustained entirely by the bumper. l2. As a result, 'many accidents have occurred due to, sud denstopping or starting as the bumper is usual-- 1y of springmetaland in any event, the brackets l4 permit considerable movement of the bumper under load. Usually the trailer couplingbreaks under thissudden action and the trailer. isno, longer under control. The seriousness. andfre quency of these; accidentshas been cause for alarm.

My invention avoids the foregoing difficulties, by..eS1?ablis hing. a direct draft connection be,- tween the. towing pivot block 2 5 and the frame member. l6."This is accomplished'in. the first form.of embodiment through the draft member,

z l'iwhich may be of avsubstantial barconstruction'such asrolled steel having the U,shap ed/ configuration shown in Fig. 2.. This results in. two. legs 24gzand 24b, the. inner extremitiesof which are turned up at 240 to engage theinner side of. frame member, I 6. V

Carried by the draft member 2 near, theinner, end is, a, frame clamping device,.,consisting..of .an. upwardly extending v complementary jaw .l 25; which is} movable.- toward. and l away from the fixed extremities24c'of the. draft member. This.- is effectively accornplished I by long bolt. 28- car-k riedlby' alb'r'acket 29.] dependent fromthe draft; member z l near .its inner end,.such bolt having; a sleeve. 39. and ;hand.-wheel nut arrangement 32 threaded on. theibolt. The inner endof the sleeve 32;;engages therlower end of l-jawzfigso thatl. z' lm n 32 h llqi .1 1; n: e; flr'i."

frame member I6 reacting against draft bar members 240. A turn in the opposite direction, will, of course, loosen the device.

The jaw 26 is slotted to slide on the bars 24a and 24b or may be made of two parts integrated by members 26a. Reenforcing brackets 21 may also be used to prevent bending of the jaw 26 under load.

The purpose of the sleeve 30 is to render the attachment more easily accomplished from the rear of the vehicle. The strap 33 tends to hold the bolt extension and sleeve from rattling.

Having fixed the inner end of the draft member 24 to the frame member It in a secure manner, the draft member 24 is attached to the trailer hitch II as follows. extension of bolt 22, extends from the lower jaw 2| through the slot 240'. in the bar 24. A clamp nut 36 and lock washer are carried by this bolt, and having a long arm 36a, the draft bar 24 is readily locked to the hitch bolt 22. If necessary, an extension sleeve 38 may be used to accommodate the relative vertical positions of the draft bar 24 with respect to the trailer hitch clamps 20 and 2! depending upon the relative body shapes ID, the location of the cross frame member I6 and the location of the bumper I2. If desired, the upper face of the draft members 2411 and 24b may have transverse serrations and the cooperating face 38a of the extension sleeve 38 may be similarly serrated to form a non-slipping connection when the parts are clamped together.

Method of application (attachment) In order to attach the draft gear to a vehicle, hand wheel 23 of the hitch clamp adjustment is loosened so that the jaws 29 and 2I will fit over the bumper. Clamp 36 of the draft bar length adjustment is loosened to permit the necessary lateral adjustment of the draft bar and hand wheel 32 of the frame clamp adjustment is loosened to permit jaw 26 and end pieces 240 to embrace the cross frame member I6.

As the first step, the upper trailer hitch jaw 20 is hung on the bumper l2. The draft bar 24 is then moved to engage the end pieces 240 on the inside of the frame member I6. If necessary, the bolt or stud 34 is slid in or out along the draft bar 24 to make a relatively right angular relation. The hand wheel 32 on the frame clamp adjustment is then tightened to firmly attach the draft member to the frame.

As the second step, the trailer hitch clamps 20 and 2| are made tight on the bumper I2 by securing the hand wheel 23 on the bolt or stud 22. By this action, the relatively unfiexed position of the bolt 34 and draft member 24 is automatically established. The clamp nut 36 is then secured to form an integral unit.

Removal of the hitch is accomplished in the reverse order.

Ordinarily the spacing between the cross frame member I6 and the gasoline tank I8 and between the cross frame member I6 and other parts of the vehicle, such as the rear aisle housing, make it important that the inner ends 240 of the draft member be carefully proportioned so that the hitch may be quickly applied and removed. Ordinarily time is of the essence, especially where the hitches are rented on an hourly basis.

A modified form of construction is shown in Fig. 5, such form being adapted to a greater variety of vehicles including those having extraordinary bumpers. In this case, the vehicle body is shown at H and the modified form of A bolt 34 which may be an.

bumper is indicated at H2. The gasoline tank is I 8 and the upper jaw of the trailer hitch is I20. It has a series of steps or gripping portions I2la and may have a central reenforcing rib I202). It also preferably has an integral reenforcing bracket member I200 and it carries the typical ball pivot member I25.

The lower jaw I2I has a series of cooperating steps or grips I2la to engage under varied styles of bumpers. The jaws are closed by hand wheel I23 on stud I22 and the stud may have an extension portion I34 on which is preferably an extension sleeve I38 as in the prior form. The draft member I24 carried by this extension portion I34 to which it is secured by clamp I36 engages the cross frame member H6 by means of the upturned ends I240 as in the prior case. Jaw I26 in this case is moved by a slightly different bolt arrangement.

In this case, jaw I28 has a nut I29a welded to it and the bolt I28 which is threaded through the nut I231; also extends through an unthreaded aperture in bracket I29. The bolt has a head I28a and a hand hold or cross bar I281). As the bolt is turned, the head end freely rotating in bracket I29, it will advance or retract nut I29a and thus move the jaw I26 in the desired direction.

It will be apparent that this form of construction makes it possible to apply a single form of hitch to many varieties of body, vehicle and bumper shapes. It is also possible to use a standard form of hitch for a particular type of vehicle for most all of any one of the three popular priced cars have the same relation of parts (bumper, cross frame member and body extension). In such case the draft length adjustment could be eliminated and a simple attachment for direct fore and aft draft on the body and support by the bumper could be established. In general, however, I find it necessary to have at least the trailer hitch adjustment to the bumper and the detachable clamp adjustment to the cross frame member.

While I have shown and described preferred forms of embodiment of my invention, I am aware that modifications may be made thereto and I therefore desire to include such modifications as come within the scope and spirit of the description herein and of the claims appended hereinafter.

I claim: I

1. A universal detachable trailer hitch for quick attachment and detachment to different towing vehicles having a bumper and a transverse chassis member inwardly spaced from the rear of the vehicle, said trailer hitch comprising a knuckle ball, cooperating clamping jaws adapt-. ed to engage the bumper and position the knuckle ball, adjustable screw means including a hitch bolt to force said bumper clamping jaws into bumper engaging position, a rigid draft member extending longitudinally of the vehicle from a point adjacent the chassis cross member to a position adjacent the adjustable screw means for the bumper clamping jaws, said draft member having a fixed face and carrying a relatively movable member with an opposing face, adjustable lockingmeans to fixedly position said opposing faces in contact with the fore and aft faces of the chassis cross member to transmit fore and aft draft loads thereto, and an adjustable clamp" engaging the hitch bolt and the adjacent end of the draft member whereby draft loads on thef knuckle ball will be positivelyresisted by the 5 chassis member, said trailer hitch being removable from the vehicle by the loosening of the chassis member engaging clamping faces and the loosening of the bumper engaging clamps.

2. A hitch as claimed in claim 1 in which the adjustable locking means to fixedly position the draft member to the chassis cross member includes a screw carried by the draft member, and a travelling nut carried by the screw and engaging the movable member, said screw extending toward the rear of the vehicle a distance substantially greater than the range required for adjustment and a sleeve carried by said screw between said nut and said movable face whereby adjustment can be accomplished from the rear of the vehicle.

3. In combination with a knuckle ball trailer hitch having adjustable jaws to detachably engage a rear part of a towing vehicle whereby the knuckle ball may be supported in a desired position, a rigid draft member to take fore and aft draft on said hitch, said draft member having adjustable clamping faces adapted to engage the fore and aft faces of a transverse chassis member spaced forward of the hitch supporting vehicle part, said hitch having a hitch bolt extending transversely of the draft member adjacent the outer end thereof, said draft member extending laterally with respect to the hitch bolt, and a clamp to hold the hitch bolt and outer end of the draft member in a desired relative position after the end of the draft member is secured to the chassis member, said clamp being adapted to transmit thrust on said knuckle ball to said transverse chassis member.

4. The combination as claimed in claim 3 in whichthe draft member is longitudinally slotted and the hitch bolt has a screw threaded extension extending through the slot and the clamp is carried by the extension piece and engages one side of the draft member.

JQHN R. HULSE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,535,397 Buflington Apr. 28, 1925 1,537,249 Manley May 12, 1925 2,097,006 Weis Oct. 26, 1937 2,306,007 Thorp Dec. 22, 1942 2,342,907 Stall Feb. 29, 1944 

